Federal Cuts At EPA Will Trickle Down To Pennsylvania

President Trump's vision for reducing the size of the EPA could have big impacts on everything from safe drinking water in Pennsylvania to the decades-long comeback of Lake Erie.

Tom Whitten
/ Flickr

As a candidate, Donald Trump promised to drastically reduce the size and scope of the Environmental Protection Agency. A memo by the White House Office of Management and Budget indicates that’s still the plan. The memo outlines a proposed 25 percent cut to EPA’s $8-billion budget, including reductions in state grants for clean air and water programs.

David Hess, who was secretary of Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in the 1990s, says that’s a big deal: Nearly a third of the DEP’s budget comes from the EPA.

Hess says the DEP already has fewer resources than it needs to do its job. The department has been operating with reduced staff, and its share of the state’s general fund has been cut by 40 percent over the last 14 years.

“The department has been in triage mode, really for the last decade,” Hess says.

Hess says it’s not just the environment that loses out if DEP doesn’t review permits in a timely manner. It holds up business and development, which costs Pennsylvania money. He says slashing regulations isn’t the answer either.

“I certainly agree with people that things can be simplified, but it’s got to be simplified and streamlined without getting rid of protection.”

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